Waiting Game
by DaphniaLong
Summary: When tragedy strikes there are only two options...to crumble under the strain or to allow the human spirit to rise above it. A terrorist attack in Los Vegas leaves the team with that decision. Chapter 1-Reminder.
1. Prologue: Time

_Disclaimer-I do not own CSI or the city of Los Vegas. But I do own three sharks (named Nick, Warrick, and Brass), two kisser fish (named Grissom and Sara) and an eel (Greg). Yes, I named my tropical fish after the team. _

_Hello this is D. Long. Thank you, for being willing to read first fanfiction. I hope you will enjoy it. I would like to give credit to my wonderful beta GregsLabrat aka Bubbles for all their help with preparing this story. All errors that are still present are completely my own fault. _

_Last but not least, this story is dedicated to the first responders on Urban Search and Rescue Teams across the US._

**Prologue-**

**Time**

Working the nightshift caused most people to have an odd circadian rhythm and Dr. Gil Grissom was no exception to this rule. It was nearly five in the evening when he had just finished up his 'morning' shower. Rubbing the towel through his salt and pepper curls with one hand he flipped on the TV with his other free hand. He was mildly surprised to see a news flash on the screen. Sitting down on the bed he listened to young female reporter talk about another pipe bomb. Gil thumbed through his mental files, the fact that it was in a Chinese restaurant indicated that it was more than likely the Pure Blood group again.

"…So far all the evidence indicates that this is yet another attack by the anti-immigration organization known as the Pure Blood." The woman on the TV continued to talk as Gil smiled at the screen realizing that his deduction was correct. The Pure Blood attack meant that Nick and Warrick would be processing the scene. Yes, it was the wrong time of the day for their cases, but they were the ones working with the FBI to crack the case so the two of them were probably dragged out of bed by the oh-so-famous Conrad Ecklie

"The explosive was a small pipe bomb surrounded by leaflets and was set off at approximately an hour and a half ago. No one was killed in the blast, though two employees of the restaurant were injured. One was taken to Mountainside Hospital with third-degree burns and shrapnel injuries." The female reporter shifted slightly to the side to allow the TV camera to get a cleaner shot of the shattered glass behind the police tape. "We are currently waiting for a joint news conference by the Las Vegas Police Department and the FBI. We will interrupt regular programming and broadcast it to you li…"

Before the reporter had a chance to finish her report there was a deafening _BOOM!_ and a large section of the building behind her collapsed. Almost instantly the camera crew was engulfed in the billowing cloud of concrete dust, and the feed went black. Within seconds, the channel cut to a nervous looking reporter at the ABC station.

"It appears that there has been a secondary collapse of the building. We will now return to our regular programming."

Gil stared at the TV screen in shock as the theme music to 'Wife Swap' played before switching channels to CNN.

"This is CNN Headline Breaking News. A building has collapsed in downtown Las Vegas. The cause is currently unknown, but it is believed to be connected to the recently streak of pipe bombs set off by the anti-immigration terrorist group known as the 'Pure Blood.'" In the background, a video feed showed the building collapse. Brass was in the foreground forcefully encouraging one of the reporters to move farther way from the disaster zone. Gil sighed. At least Brass was relatively out of harms way, though Grissom was glad that he would not to be in his shoes. Brass was going to have a difficult time keeping the reporters and video cameras at a safe distance from the crumbled building. "In other news…" continued the reporter as he droned about the housing market and falling prices of stocks. That's when Grissom hit the power button and grabbed his cell.

Less then ten minutes later Grissom got off his phone. Brass had been outside the building during the collapse preparing for the upcoming press conference. He was fine and helping organize the emergency rescue. Catherine and Warrick were trapped on opposite ends of the third floor, which apparently was a call center. Greg had been asleep in bed, had being the operative word. That left three people missing. Nick hadn't answered his phone and had been working the fourth floor. Sara Sidle had been processing the second floor and her phone went straight to voicemail. Add an expert witness that was missing somewhere on the premises, and you get what Grissom was feeling.

Grissom sat on the bed to let the information sink in before he changed into his work clothes. This was one of the few times in his career that Grissom felt sick to his stomach. Though it wasn't obvious to most people, Gil was a fairly emotional person and the fact that the people affected were practically his family made this disaster hit home. By the time he was in the car and halfway to the lab Grissom got a call from the Sheriff. Apparently there was not only a partially collapsed building full of people, but there was also a bomb threat, a sniper and a city wide emergency had just been declared. This was going to be a very bad day, Grissom had just gotten out of bed and was already summoned to the Mobile Emergency Law Enforcement Command Center for the city of Las Vegas.

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	2. Chapter 1: Reminder

_Disclaimer-I still do not own CSI, nor will I ever._

_Hey it is me, D. Long, again and as promised here is another chapter. Once again it was read through by the all-knowing GregsLabrats, which means all errors are completely my fault._

_I will warn you up front that this week's chapter is a little less action packed then the prologue, but you have to set up the story somewhere. I promise that there are explosions in the next chapter. Thank you for the reviews, especially Mma63. They really make me want to write faster. I am going to be writing in two puzzles in this story. One of them will be for the CSI's to solve the other one is for you. I am sure that I can throw in a reward for those who get it correct. More details on this next time, but your first clue is it involves Dr. Sorenson._

**Forensic fact of the day:** Deaner-a name for a coroner's assistant. They keep track of the bodies that their coroner will be working with. They are in charge of preparing bodies for autopsies as well as cleaning up afterwards. Oftentimes each coroner has one to two deaners that work under them.

* * *

**T minus 7 hours**

**Lab - End of the Nightshift**

"Sidle?" asked Dr. Gil Grissom as he stood in the doorway of the microscope lab, glancing over his glasses at the thin woman leaning over a set of hair samples.

"Yes?" replied Sara, who did not look up from her work.

"I just got a call from Dr. Sorenson. Are you still planning on picking the good doctor up from the airport?"

Sara completed focusing on the object under the microscope and snapped the polarization plate in place before glancing up at her boss. "Yes, I am still planning on it. She is the expert witness for 'my case' after all."

"Just checking" smiled Grissom as he turned to continue down the hallway. The fact that Gil didn't give her a hard time about getting emotionally involved with her case set off some warning bells in his head. "Why…do you know her?"

"Sort of," was all that she said. As always, Grissom was either oblivious to her or was doing a fair job of leading her on. Right now, Sara could not tell which. "Is that why you insisted that I pick her up from the airport instead of having an officer or just having her catch a cab?"

"No. I think you will understand why you are picking her up once you meet Dr. Sorenson." Once again, Grissom tried to leave but Sara was not going to put up with it. "Grissom?"

"Hm?" asked Grissom as he turned back to her, wearing one of his thin lipped smiles. That conformed what Sara had speculated. "What are you not telling me?" asked Sara as she attempted to glare down her boss.

"You will find out soon enough," she replied and with that, Grissom strolled off towards his office, leaving Sara to puzzle over the meaning. Yes, there was something going on and her not knowing what it is was going to drive Sara nuts.

* * *

**T minus 2 hours**

**Airport – Baggage Claim**

It was three in the afternoon and not one cloud graced the flawless blue Nevada sky. Sara Sidle sat in her black Denali, a pair of shades shielding her eyes from the late August sun. Heat distorted the pavement as Sara navigated the short distance down Paradise Road towards McCarran International. Once she reached the airport complex, she followed the signs and yellow arrows painted on the blacktop to the short term parking. The lot was nearly full, so Sara was force to spend a good ten minutes circling through the lot before she found a vacant slot large enough to fit the SUV. Glancing at her watch, Sara realized that instead of being a few minutes early she was running late. Dr. Sorenson's plane had already landed.

"Great, I knew I should have set the alarm clock for two instead of two-thirty," Sara mumbled to herself. She tossed the thick case folder from the front passenger seat to the back one before getting out of the car and walking to the elevator parking lot. On the ground floor, Sara checked the computer for Dr. Sorenson's flight information. It had been on time and the planes luggage was already at baggage claim.

Baggage Claim was colorful and filled with tourists trying to squeeze in the end of summer vacations. Sara slowly scanned the mob as she walked towards the Delta claim section. There were businessmen walking hurriedly in their dark suits, a group of forty-five or so people with bright red t-shirts announcing that they were on the 'Allred Family Reunion' and several couples of various ages enjoying each other's company. After circling the north end of the Baggage Claim, Sara spotted a woman in her mid-thirties, dressed in a simple charcoal suit on a corner bench who appeared promising. Sara glanced at the photo she had downloaded off the Brown University website earlier that day and from the angle it, it looked as if it could be a match. But from the angle Sara was standing at, she could not tell for sure. The woman's head was tilted away from her, soaking up the sun through the floor to ceiling windows. The light gave a sharp contrast between the female's porcelain skin, dark sunglasses, and raven hair. Sara approached the woman and cleared her throat. "Dr. Sorenson?"

At the sound of Sara's voice, the woman looked up and smiled. "Yes, but please call me Hope. I assume you are Miss. Sidle?"

Dr. Sorenson put out her hand and Sara stepped forward to take it. "Yes, but you can call me Sara."

"Alright, Sara," replied Hope as she tucked a stack of papers which had been lying across her lap into an oversized traveling purse.

"Would you like any help?" asked Sara as she moved to help Dr. Sorenson when she stood from the bench.

"Taking my suitcase would be a great help." Hope motioned to a forest green rolling suitcase. Pulling out a telescoping cane from her traveling purse, she deployed it with a quick flip of her wrist. Sara stared at Dr. Sorenson in surprise. "You're blind."

"Yes…sorry. I thought you had been informed." Hope turned slightly, her cheeks flush pink.

"No. They must have forgotten," replied Sara, also feeling awkward for not picking up on it earlier. After all she had been in correspondence with this woman for nearly two months, she had not noticed anything out of the ordinary.

"Don't worry about it. I have adjusted fairly well to being blinded," she replied as smiled at Sara's bewilderment and headed off in the direction of the elevators. She moved quickly enough that Sara had catch up.

"I have to apologize. If I would have known, I would have gotten the case information in an alternative format."

"Is it printed?"

"Yes."

"Then don't worry about it. I brought a scanner and the software to translate the information to audio."

"Oh. I didn't realize that. Well, we're here," stated Sara, indicating that they had arrived at the vehicle. Sara paused at the trunk to load the suitcase into the back while Hope made her way long the side of the car.

"What model of vehicle?"

"Denali," Sara replied as she popped the backdoor.

"That is an SUV, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"I have to know how to get in." Hope felt the side of the vehicle and opened the door. She then quickly padded the seat to determine its height before jumping into the passenger seat of the Denali.

"Oh, sorry," mumbled Sara, stowing the suitcase in the back before making her way to the driver side.

"You don't need to apologize. I maybe blind, but I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself as well as keeping track of a lab full of undergrad technicians." Hope smiled to herself as Sara turned the ignition and started to navigate the parking lot.

"It's just… I should have done more research."

"You are a CSI, you have better things to focus on and I know that. Anyway it was not really your responsibility. I honestly would have expected Dr. Grissom or my secretary to have told you." At that, Sara looked up remember her earlier conversation with Gil.

"Do you know Dr. Grissom?"

"Not really. Technically we've never met. Why?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking of a comment Grissom made earlier today. Are you absolutely sure you have never met?" Sara was still puzzling Gil's comments.

"We never had the pleasure of meeting. About seven years ago, Dr. Grissom came to Rhode Island to consult one of my cases. About two hours before his plane landed, there was an accident on a case." Dr. Sorenson soft voice faded to a whisper by the end.

"Is that when…?" Sara prodded as she drove out of the parking enclosure.

"Yes, that is when I went blind, but I was one of the lucky ones. Two officers went home in boxes and…" Hope seemed to stare out of the window remembering. "Well enough depressing topics. Shall we discuss the case?"

"You consider discussing a case about a mass grave to be a less depressing topic?"

"Yes, but I did worked homicides as a CSI for three years, as well as moonlighted as a deaner to put myself through grad school…Do you really find it odd that I consider cases to be a lighter topic?" Hopes eyebrow arched beneath her tinted glasses.

"Not really. Shall we grab some dinner while we're at it? I know of a few good restaurants," Sara chuckled back, "When you work with death everyday I guess you began to learn how to keep detached from your cases.

"That is very true and dinner sounds wonderful. I honestly haven't eaten since yesterday." Hope closed her eyes as she leaned her head against the headrest.


End file.
